eel, i
@eliacugini
writer & end-stage PhD student. i work on literary culture, sex, queer life, child liberation, and anti-trans persecution. contributing writer @ Vashti, work @ Baffler, Dazed, Defector, &c. he/him. 📍 manchester / belfast
every bloody conference i go to people are talking about it and agreeing with it and i am like six years deep in study of her keystone literary genres and like 70% of what she says about them is wrong
July: THE INVITE (2026) BLUE HERON (2025) HER (2013) NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2025)
saw some nothing account say this re the platner stuff and it so neatly encapsulates the masculinist fantasy that stops people believing rape survivors. oh well i’d have responded instantly and the cops would have fully cooperated, and since she didn’t then it must not have been real!
June: THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER (1989) MADDIE’S SECRET (2025) THE LAST VIKING (2025) ROPE (1948)
have talked about hard launching enough times that i remembered to actually do it
May: THE GRADUATE (1967) BEING THERE (1979) PUPPYGIRL (2025) NIGHTHAWKS (1978)
v glad that Gareth talked to me; as he mentions here, I believe it’s the first time I’ve been solicited for comment in this context, despite writing publicly on anti-trans movements and the press since 2018
guy got crazy mad at me for calling myself a prettyboy and look man it’s not my fault that this is the material i’m working with
@bbcdomc.bsky.social do you think this is a reasonable and non-obfuscatory way to characterise Palestine Action’s targets, given that literally all of them have been targeted because of their involvement in the Israeli destruction of Gaza?
being queer and fem with long hair means i get a lot of Gender Noise / Looks and i oscillate really wildly between ‘i am clearly a guy and should chill out’ and ‘i am a blurry androgyne and cannot securely rely on being correctly sexed by the guy asking me for my number ON THE BUS’
autumn used to be my favourite season but now it’s summer because i can wear tank top all day
have been stoked for this to come out for some time. this and night night fawn are gonna be my special treats this summer
April: (a hard pick because I saw so many films this month) MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001) CASTRATION MOVIE PART III.II - JUNIOR GHOSTS PREMORPHIC DRIFT (2026) MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015) GOLDENEYE (1995)
March: WAKE IN FRIGHT (1971) LOVE ME TENDER (2025) CLÉO FROM 5 TO 7 (1962) CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? (2018)
still coming off the high highs of anne hathaway catwoman vs the low lows of talia al ghul
very grateful for kind / thoughtful responses to latest article; just catching up on them now because i spent the last 24 hours running The Gauntlet
also ngl i find ‘visibility’ an often baffling metric wrt transness but given this is a newish platform for me: i’ve been out as trans for 7 years, transness and trans healthcare gave me my life, & i plan to be kicking and screaming and aiding my people in kicking and screaming forever